i:; 


i: ’i 

t*.. 

1.;. 

Hit 

;t;i 

;i-'f 

»;iH' •;. 



! J* ?' 


;; j 

r . i: 





FLM 

2015 

129605 


i'. i* 

t: 


:.s.'';’'i-.i'‘,.-JH 

•• -1-.f-;.' T. ii •• ■Ii:-ir •'••■mjI.V.--;:::- 






• I ‘. 1 .. ;f::nf.'.:,t 

•■r\. ... ;; ; ?:•: i•■'**•• ;’•:U*'-'*’'-•I'' u;»Ji, 

■■!•••;. ,r.’;r.• •■• ■' •■•'• lilu 

.• • :.• •.,•-•••-••••••:•-•.'■ • - . J. : t;::Kt.!;'.r.’,..'r.. //r;;j.-.'.' 

••-•- •. : : ;•.• :--r':'■ • ... •• 

.•.••' . •■ •' .. ■ ■'. i. 

. , '• ' 'ir* i .('»»• » / I .1 /•••« ».»«# »t » . j t f f 


r;‘; 54.-.'. ;rc:?.M.': : 


. . 


, . . .. .. ... , 












;”5 f.':: ■ 
; ■ • • * ; 




'.’i:•■;!,. . ’i '.w'::”r-Iir* 




' '' . ... 










:r;. 


.• • ..' V •: 






u, '• r 






i’ii: 






.. 
















. I j 










•• i; 








T. V :u .:; t?:;.'. 


s^i’c ■. 




... 










ttf 

\ r.:*': •. i'vi:‘u.’.?!;.'Mj; 

• ’n: ij ' 5 •:r?r:nr;:;.'.';"*!:'.r:::T* 










T.v.; 












*: r- .. i.: / 


r- ::.j- .. 


.."Vn-’itiu.--'•.ni' ..-rr-nn: rL 








'f 




nvrnv 










. t, t;-. .11 *.'• .j 

. •. . , ; •• •. , ..n..:.-n- ;:.;.m 

. . r;/‘* •.• -i--'.n; u r.:•. :;’v.; r rn; •' 




un* 


































a 

< 











Ethnographic 
Collections in the Archive 
of Folk Culture 



A Contributor’s Guide 


American Folklife Center 
The Library of Congress 




Ethnographic 
Collections in the Archive 
of Folk Culture: 

A Contributor’s Guide 

Prepared by 
Stephanie A. Hall 



VOI 


American Folklife Center 
Library of Congress Washington 1995 


,// 35 ' 



Publications of the American Folklife Center, no. 20 


Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 


Hall, Stephanie A. 

Ethnographic collections in the Archive of Folk Culture : a 
contributor’s guide / prepared by Stephanie A. Hall. 

p. cm. - - (Publications of the American Folklife Center ; no. 

20 ) 

ISBN 0-8444-0846-8 

1. Archive of Folk Culture (U.S.) 2. Folklore archives -- United 
States - - Collectors and collecting. 3. Cataloging of archival 
material - - United States. 4. Cataloging of special collections in 
libraries - - United States. 5. Ethnological museums and collections 
--Washington (D.C.) I. American Folklife Center. II. Title. 

III. Series 
GR105.H35 1995 

016.398' 0973 - - dc20 94-39774 

CIP 


Available from the Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, 
Washington, D.C. 20540-8100 


Cover: Folklorist Mario Montano interviews Felix Luna for the American 
Folklife Center’s Lowell (Massachusetts) Folklife Project. Photo hy Tom Rankin 
(LFP-TR-B478) 


Contents 


Introduction.5 

The Archive of Folk Culture.7 

Types of Contributions.10 

Preparing a Collection for the Archive of Folk Culture.12 

Arranging and Numbering the Collection.15 

Audio and Video Tape Recordings.17 

Manuscripts.22 

Photographs.22 

Film.24 

Computer Diskettes.25 

Appendixes.26 

Potential Acquisitions Data Sheet.26 

Fieldwork Sample Data Sheet.27 

Audio Tape Log.29 

Video Tape Log.30 

Photo Log.31 


3 



















Per Host (center) recording a Choco Indian flutist in the house of Choco Indian 
medicine man Gajego (left), for the Archive of Folk Culture; the upper Sambu River, 
on the border of Panama and Columbia, October 1949. 


4 





Introduction 


The American Folklife Center’s Archive of Folk (Adture at the Library of 
Congress houses one of the largest collections of ethnographic documenta¬ 
tion in the world, protects these materials for the use of ftiUire generations, 
and makes them available to researchers interested in the study of culture. Its 
holdings encompass all aspects of folk music, dance, narrative, arts, and 
material culture of all nations. 

Ethnographic collections are multi-format, unpublished, created works 
that document cultural groups. Such collections may be broad or narrow in 
scope, and large or small in size. Collections currently in the Archive of Folk 
Cidture may consist of a few recordings, such as the John Gregory Bourke 
Collection of nine wax cylinder recordings of Mexican music made in 1893, 
or hundreds of recordings and thousands of photographs such as the 
Pinelands Folklife Project undertaken by the Folklife Center in 1983. But all 
the collections there document creative aspects of traditional folk culture. 

Often collectors or others (including the Librar)^ of Congress) draw on the 
material in the Archive of Folk Culture to create published works, but the 
collections themselves remain unpublished. Collections occasionally in¬ 
clude copyrighted material, but are not usually copyrighted as a whole. 
Nevertheless, the American Folklife Center regards ethnographic collections 
as created works. Collectors make decisions about the scope, content, and 
arrangement of their material that are respected when the American Folklife 
Center takes charge of it. More than Just the fieldnotes, recordings, and 
photographs should be preserved. The (’enter attempts to maintain the 
original, creative intent of the collector in the organization and presentation 
of the collection. 

If you are the compiler or caretaker of a collection with material pertain¬ 
ing to folklife, ethnomusicology, anthropology, cultural history, or 
sociolinguistics, you may wish to place your collection in the American 
Folklife Center’s Archive of f’olk Culture. By contributing to this national 
repository, you will make your collection available for students, researchers, 
educators, and the people of the cultural group you studied. Your collection 
will become part of a national legacy, furthering research on cultural groups 
and preserving and sometimes helping to restore cultural heritage. If your 
collection materials are fragile, you will provide for their care and safekeep- 
ing. 

This booklet provides a practical guide for those interested in contribut¬ 
ing material to the Archive of Folk Culture. It explains the legal implications 
of giving a collection to the library of Congress and describes how to 
organize, label, and document the material before transfer. It also includes 
advice on how collectors can protect ethnographic materials in their own 
keeping, or store them prior to sending them to the Library of (Congress. 


5 


Placing a collection in an archive requires care and forethought. The 
contributor must choose a repository appropriate to the contents of the 
collection and the best of several possible methods of placing it there. The 
next section will provide information that will help you consider whether 
your collection might be appropriately placed among those in the .\rchive of 
Folk Culture. 


Acknowledgements 

When I was learning how to process the collections in the Archive of Folk 
Culture, I kept a computer file of problems and concerns, including a list of 
the kinds of information I felt collectors should have before they contribute 
their collections to Archive or even before they begin their fieldwork. Later 
this file helped me to create instructional guides for the collectors who 
worked on the American Folklife Center’s 1991 Maine Acadian Folklife 
Project. Marsha Maguire, then coordinator of processing, looked at this file 
and realized that it had the potential to become the guide for contributors 
that she. Head of Acquisitions Joseph Hickerson, and Reference Librarian 
Gerald Parsons had often discussed and that she had begun researching. She 
passed her research on to me and asked me if I could re-work my computer 
file as the basis for a contributor’s guide. The subsequent publication has 
been handed around the Folklife Center office, and commented upon at 
length by most of the staff The information and recommendations con¬ 
tained within have been tried in archival practice and in the field. I would 
like to thank the staff of the Center, and, in particular, Marsha, Joe, and 
Gerry for their help in making this publication possible. 


6 



Recording equipment transported by John and Alan Lomax in the trunk of their car 
when they went on collecting expeditions in the 1930s. Both father and son served as 
head of the Archive of Folk Culture. 


The Archive of Folk Culture 

The Archive of Folk Culture was created in 1928 as the Archive of American 
Folk-Song. Housed in the Music Division of the Library of Congress, its 
original purpose was to establish a national collection of documentary 
manuscripts and sound recordings of American folksong. International 
materials were acquired almost from the beginning, however, and in 1955 the 
name was changed to Archive of Folk Song. 

Over the years the collection grew to include material on all aspects of 
folklore in all types of media (including manuscripts, photographs, video¬ 
tapes, film, and recordings). In 1976, Congress established the American 
Folklife Center “to preserve and present American folklife” and placed it at 
the Library of Congress. The Archive of Folk Song became part of the 
American Folklife Center two years later, and in 1981 its name was changed 
to Archive of Folk Culture. 

Today the Archive contains well over one million items in over two 
thousand separate collections. At least 25 percent of the holdings come from 


7 


abroad, while over 20 percent document non-English-language traditions in 
the United States. For instance, the Archive houses the earliest sound 
recordings of the now-extinct Ona and Yahgan peoples of Tierra del Fuego 
in South America (Charles Wellington Furlong Collection). The diverse 
collections include folklore, folklife, sociolinguistic, anthropological, and 
ethnomusicological materials. 

The collections in the Archive of Folk Culture are used in various ways: 
The Chitimacha of Fouisiana have used recordings in the Archive to recover 
samples of their language (Morris Swadesh Collection). Collections of early 
African-American music recordings, such as thejelly Roll Morton Collection, 
document the musical traditions that gave rise tojazz and rock and roll and 
have been used to trace the change and development of these traditional 
forms. In addition, the collections of important researchers provide a 
historical record of their particular contributions to their fields. The Harold 
C. Conklin Philippines Collection, for example, documents the work of the 
theorist who developed cognitive anthropology. 

Researchers studying peoples, customs, and languages use the Archive 
collections as source material in their research or as a foundation for 
fieldwork of their own. The Archive played a prominent role in the revival of 
interest in folk music that began in the late thirties and peaked during the 
sixties. Performers and artists continue to find material that inspires their 
work and provides aesthetic ties to earlier artists and traditional styles. For 
example, actor Sam Waterston used the Archive’s collections of early dialect 
recordings to develop a nineteenth-century Kentucky accent for his televi¬ 
sion portrayal of Abraham Fincoln. Producers of radio, television, and 
motion pictures make use of the collections in their productions. Recordings 
from the Folklife Center’s Italian-Americans in the West Project Collection, 
for instance, were played in a radio broadcast by the Voice of America. 

The American Folklife Center provides access to its collections through 
reference copies of recordings, visual materials, and manuscripts, available in 
the Folklife Reading Room. Visitors may also listen by appointment to 
archival copies (that is, originals or preser\^ation duplicates) of both field and 
commercial sound recordings in the Fibrary’s Performing Arts Reading 
Room. 

Duplicates of collection materials are often requested by researchers. 
While permitting public access to virtually all of the materials in the Archive 
of Folk Culture, the American Folklife Center endeavors to protect the 
proprietary interests of collectors and performers. As a federal institution, 
the Library of Congress has no proprietary interests in its own collections, 
excepting in those compiled by federal employees as part of their duties. 
Performers own the rights to their performances, regardless of whether that 
performance is published or copyrighted, and collections as whole works are 
the creations of the collectors who compiled them. The Center’s policy 
dictates that duplicates of collection materials, unless restricted by the donor. 


8 


may be purchased by a researcher for private use after an appropriate form 
is completed. Researchers who wish to copy materials for publication, 
however, must obtain letters of permission from performers (or their heirs or 
other interested parties) and sometimes from collectors. 

Usually, field collections may be copied for broadcast or museum use 
providing the user gives credit to the “Archive of Folk Culture in the 
American Folklife Outer at the Library of Congress” and the appropriate 
collectors, performers, and institutions of origin (if other than the Library of 
(Congress). Again, letters of permission may be necessary. 

If necessary, collectors may choose to impose additional conditions on 
their collections. But the Archive of Folk Culture is a public repository 
dedicated to sendng researchers. Collections with materials requiring nar¬ 
rowly restricted access may be referred to other repositories. In all cases, the 
Center hopes to reach an agreement with contributors that will both protect 
the rights of those involved in creating the collection and provide reasonable 
access to those studying or presenting the materials. 

If you decide to place your collection in the Archive of Folk Culture, you 
should contact the American Folklife Center, Acquisitions Unit, Library of 
Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540-8100, phone: (202) 707-1725; fax: (202) 
707-2076. A member of the acquisitions staff will help you to determine 
whether the Archive is the appropriate repository. If the material does not 
match the Center’s collecting needs and policies, the staff member may be 
able to refer you to a more appropriate repository, particularly when the 
collection has a local or regional orientation. 

Offers of collections should be made in writing, even if the initial contact 
is made in person or by phone. You will be asked to complete a “Potential 
Acquisitions Data Sheet” to provide important information about your 
collection (see Appendix, page 26). You should also consider what type of 
contribution you wish to make, and the following section is provided to help 
you make that decision. 


9 



Items from the Literatura de Cordel Brazilian Chapbook Collec¬ 
tion (AFC 1970/002) ready for processing. To date, approxi¬ 
mately five thousand chapbooks have been collected for the 
Library of Congress by its Rio de Janeiro office. 

Types of Contributions 

The American Folklife Center acquires collections by several means: gift, 
exchange, loan for duplication, purchase, transfer, and copyright deposit. 
The acquisitions staff can help you to decide which contribution category is 
most suitable for your collection. Your needs for access to the materials, tax 
considerations, and the condition and value of the material should all be 
taken into account. 

Gift: A gift is an uncompensated donation of material. Gifts to the Library 
of materials that are not the original creations of the donor are generally tax 
deductible. The Library, however, does not provide evaluations of donated 
materials, or advice concerning tax regulations. Donors should seek the 
advice of their own tax council. 


10 


Exchange: This method applies principally to collections containing sound 
or visual recordings. Two kinds of exchanges are possible. Archives, 
libraries, and other institutions wishing to increase their holdings may 
exchange copies of their collections for copies of materials in the Archive of 
Folk Culture. The second type of exchange is for individuals who want to 
contribute their collections but need to retain copies of the material for their 
own use. Such donors may give original recordings to the Archive in 
exchange for copies. 

Duplicates of recordings made for exchange are of high quality and may 
serve as a substitute for the original. An exchange provides a copy for the 
donor’s reference use and protective storage at the Library of Congress for 
the original collection. Because the Library' must pay for duplication sendees, 
exchange agreements may depend on the availability of duplication funds. 
Because an exchange copy is considered “compensation” by the IRS, ex¬ 
changes are not tax deductible. 

Loan for duplication: This method also applies primarily to collections 
containing sound or visual recordings. If you wish to retain the original 
recordings in a collection, you may lend them to the Center. The recordings 
will be duplicated and returned to you. As with exchanges, the process of 
making exchange copies requires time and funding. How quickly a loaned 
collection is copied depends on its size, its condition and arrangement, the 
availability of processing staff, and the prior obligations of the Library’s 
Recording Laboratory. For tax purposes a loan is not considered tax deduct¬ 
ible. 

Purchase: Occasionally, the Center purchases collections offered for sale if 
the material is of particular importance and other means of acquisition are 
not available. The funds for such purchases, however, are extremely limited. 

Transfer: The Center accepts appropriate collections transferred from other 
federal agencies. 

Copyright deposit: This arrangement only applies to those planning to 
copyright folklore-related material. When material is sent to the Library of 
Congress Copyright Office in fulfillment of copyright registration deposit 
requirements, it is sometimes transferred to a special collection such as the 
Archive of Folk Culture. Since the Archive consists primarily of unpublished 
materials rather than the finished, edited products authors or performers 
might wish to copyright, copyright deposit is primarily a means of adding 
publications to the Folklife Reading Room and to the Library’s general 
collections. In special cases, however, copyrighted collections of folklore 
material may be acquired in this way. 


11 



Archivist Stephanie Hall examines recordings in the Paradise Valley (Nevada) 
Folklife Project Collection (AFC 1991/021) in the climate-controlled storage area for 
Folk Archive materials. Acid-free card-file boxes contain audio cassettes; reel-to-reel 
tape boxes are numbered and stored vertically. 

Preparing a Collection for the 
Archive of Folk Culture 

Once you and the Library have agreed that your collection should be placed 
in the Archive of Folk Culture and the terms of transferring the collection 
have been determined, you must prepare the collection for transfer. (In some 
cases, your willingness to cany out certain procedures may be a prerequisite 
of acceptance by the Library.) But the following recommendations for 
organizing and labeling will also facilitate the care and use of collections you 
keep yourself or offer to other repositories. 

Arranging, storing, and presenting mixed-format collections to research¬ 
ers in a comprehensible way poses special problems for archives. The 
Center’s ability to maintain a collection in a manner that reflects the 


12 










collector’s intent and experience depends largely on the care with which the 
collector has assembled and identified it. For example, the information 
needed to identify the subjects of photographs or the voices of participants 
on sound recordings must be written down or the unidentified photographs 
and recordings will never be useful to researchers. Over time, information 
omitted before a collection is transmitted to the Library will become impos¬ 
sible to recover. Contributors should obseiwe the following procedures in 
preparing to submit their collections for the Archive of Folk Culture. 

Documenting the Collection 

What to include: 

A. Letter. A collection offered to the Library should be preceded by a 
letter summarizing its purpose and contents. The letter should describe: 

1. The type of donation you wish to make (gift, loan, etc.), as well as 
any other conditions you wish noted or observed (dates by which 
loaned recordings must be returned to you, for example). 

2. Conditions that differ from the Center’s standard access and 
duplication policies, if any (as explained on p. 9, above). These must 
always be stated in writing. 

3. If you are the collector, a statement about yourself, your involve¬ 
ment in the collection, and your interest in the subject area it covers. 
If you are contributing a collection compiled by someone else, any 
information you have about the collector and a description of your 
relationship with the collector and the collection. 

B. Potential Acquisition Data Sheet. The collection’s title, creator(s), 
sponsoring institutions, dates, locations, and history; purpose and goals 
of the project; publications or programs resulting from the project; 
location (s) of additional copies; and a brief summary of the contents of 
the collection. Also requests technical information on formats and equip¬ 
ment used, as well as the quantity and condition of the material. A copy 
of this form has been included in the appendix to this brochure. 

If the collection resulted from a team effort, names of interviewers, 
sound recordists, photographers, and videographers, if known. Include 
also the names and addresses of the performers and interv iew subjects, so 
that the Outer or researchers can contact them for permission to 
duplicate or publish, whenever necessary. If you are unable to include 
these, let us know how researchers may contact the appropriate parties 
for permission. 


13 


C. Documentation materials. Items that may help to describe or list the 
collection’s manuscripts, recordings, and graphic materials (such as 
fieldnotes, recording and photo logs, performer biographies, release 
forms, or other correspondence with performers and interviewees). 
Include also articles, press releases, grant proposals or descriptions, 
brochures, fliers, files on computer diskettes, and other related informa¬ 
tion. If you are donating an older collection on behalf of the original 
collector, it is especially important for you to send all the information 
you have about the collection. 

Shipping Collections 

If you are shipping a large collection to the Center, take appropriate 
precautions to protect the materials. Include a card with the address of the 
Center and your return address in the box. If the container is damaged 
during shipment, this may prevent the collections from being lost. Use heavy 
duty strapping tape to secure the boxes. Write the box number and the 
number of boxes you are sending on each container (ie, “Box 1 of 2,” “Box 
2 of 2”). 


14 



Linda Sudmalis works at a computer to arrange and inventory materials 
from the Folklife Center’s Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 
Project Collection (AFC 1993/001). On and near her desk are boxes 
of curriculum material collected by the project’s research team. 

Arranging and Numbering 
the Collection 


The arrangement of the collection gives it meaning. A careful ordering of 
materials, one that reflects the purpose, context, and progress of your 
project, can facilitate duplicating and cataloging. The final arrangement of 
a collection also helps researchers to locate information and appreciate it in 
terms of the collection project. 


15 




It is always best for the collector or someone well acquainted with the 
collection to place it in order. If the collection was made by someone other 
than yourself (as with an older body of material), you may be one of the few 
people who can determine a useful order. 

Unorganized collections must be thoroughly studied and arranged by the 
archivist. Poorly arranged collections take much longer to process and this 
delays their availability to researchers. Please provide a logical, thoughtful 
arrangement of your materials before sending them to the Center, and make 
your arrangement clear by labeling and numbering the materials. Again, 
such organization may be requisite to the Library’s acceptingyour collection. 

A straightforward chronological arrangement is often useful. Other 
possible systems include alphabetical arrangement by participants or group¬ 
ings by type of event. You can use a combination of these options if that seems 
most appropriate to the material. For instance, you might arrange recordings 
and photographs chronologically, but group administrative manuscripts by 
subject category or type (such as planning documents, correspondence, 
publications, logs, fieldnotes, publicity, etc.). If your collection includes 
materials from more than one distinct project, arrange each project’s 
material separately. If more than one collector participated in the project, 
mark each collector’s materials with his or her name. 

Number the materials using an appropriate ordering system. It is often a 
good idea to accompany a chronological arrangement with a simple, sequen¬ 
tial numbering system. Give each set of media its own numbers. A simple 
system for a collection consisting of slides and tapes includes arranging items 
chronologically, and then numbering the slides, “slide I, slide 2, slide 3,” and 
the tapes, “tape 1, tape 2, tape 3.” Use a soft lead pencil (no. 1) or an indelible 
pen for marking on paper labels and boxes. For marking other formats, see 
the instructions that follow. 

Number manuscript file folders or boxes sequentially: folder 1, folder 2, 
and box I of 5, box 2 of 5, etc. If you use a combination of letters and 
numbers, be sure the letters and numbers cannot be confused (for 
example, avoid using a lower case letter “1,” which may be mistaken for a 
“one,” or an upper case “O,” which may be mistaken for a “zero”). Avoid 
giving two items the same number, and, whenever possible, avoid giving “A” 
and “B” designations (such as 2, 3, 4, 4A, 4B, 5). This can be confusing and 
lead to misnumbering or miscounting. Use a consistent numbering system 
throughout. 

You may need to use a more complex numbering system that more closely 
suits your own research or fieldwork needs. For instance, the American 
Folklife Center (which employs teams of fieldworkers who make recordings 
and take photographs at different locations simultaneously) uses a system 
that includes: (1) the project’s identifying initials; (2) the fieldworker’s 
initials; (3) an abbreviation designating the format of the material; (4) a 


16 


sequential number (e.g.: LFP-DD-R012 means Lowell Folklife Project, 
fieldworker Doug DeNatale, Audiotape Reel 012). 

Such systems are perfectly acceptable, so long as they can be easily 
understood. Please include an explanation of your numbering system, 
particularly if it is complex or idiosyncratic. 



Former Federal Cylinder Project specialist Erika Brady duplicates a wax cylinder 
recording from the machine to her left, using the tape recording machine to her right. 


Instructions for Arranging Specific Formats 

Audio and videotape recordings 

Labeling audio and video cassettes and their boxes with basic information 
about the recording is essential. Be sure to include technical information 
about the equipment used to make the recording, the recording speed, 
sound specifications (such as stereo, mono, dolby, etc.), and format (beta 
videotape, four-track stereo cassette, etc.). Reel-to-reel tape boxes should be 
labeled and a length of identifying leader attached to each tape if possible. 
This helps in preserv ing as well as identifying the reels. Label tapes and boxes 
with the tape number, date, place, informant and/or event, as appropriate. 
For collectors, it is also a good idea to voice basic information onto the 
beginning of each recording in the field (date, place, your name, informant’s 
name, event or recording situation). 


17 





A wax cylinder recording of American Indian music made by Frances Densmore. Early 
sound recordings require special handling and preservation. 


The Center may require a different numbering system for audio and 
video recordings than you use for your own reference. Collectors often use 
only the date to identify tapes. But this may prove confusing if you make 
more than one tape on that date. Using performers’ and interviewees’ names 
alone may also prove confusing since the collector may go back and record 
the same person at a later time. The Center usually duplicates recordings in 
the order indicated by your numbering scheme. Moreover, material on two 
or more audio tapes in your collection may well be duplicated onto only one 
ten-inch preservation reel for the Archive. If your original audio tapes are 
copied to the Archive’s preservation reel out of order, the confusion will be 
perpetuated. For these reasons, it is important to mark the tapes so the 
correct order is clear. A simple sequential system usually works best. 

Logging, or summarizing, the contents of your audio and video record¬ 
ings in a simple outline is highly recommended. This will help you to find 
useful material for your own research or production work. This log helps 
Center archivists in arranging and providing reference aids to the collection. 
It will also, of course, prove invaluable to future researchers. 

At the top of the log sheet, list the tape’s number, followed by date(s), 
names of recordists, informants, and, if possible, audience members, 
place (s), and event(s) documented (e.g., church supper, interview). For the 
body of the log sheet, list the contents of the recording: summarize subjects 
discussed or events documented, list titles of songs or stories, and provide any 


18 



Color slides numbered and keyed to a photo log sheet for 
identification. These are housed in slide sleeves, ar¬ 
ranged in slide pages, placed in acid-free envelopes, and 
then in boxes. The boxes are stored in numerical order 
in a cool, dry environment. 


other information that may help describe the recordings. List this informa¬ 
tion in the order in which it was recorded on the tape. If you can, note the 
timing of each segment or section. Please indicate the beginning of each side 
of audio tape. If one side of an audio recording is blank or unplayable, 
include this information on the log. 

When possible, include translations or glosses of any foreign-language 
material (song titles, folklore genres, subject matter, event names). Transla¬ 
tions of whole texts are welcome but not required. Double-check to be sure 
the information on the tape log matches the information on the tape and/ 
or tape box (especially the tape number). It is not necessary to make full 


19 





Four-by-five black-and-white negatives housed in polypropylene negative pages and 
arranged in a binder. When handling slides, negatives, and other fragile material use 
white cotton gloves to protect items from fingerprints. 


transcriptions; however, if you do have transcripts, please include them with 
the collection. 

If you write your logs on computer diskettes, please send us both 
printed and diskette copies. The Library can convert from various formats, 
but we prefer DOS files in ascii if available. See the section on computer 
diskettes below. 

Storing and shipping recordings: If you plan to store the recordings for 
an extended time before sending them to the Library, place them in clean, 
labeled boxes. Store tapes upright in a clean area that is neither too warm nor 
too humid. 

Storing recordings in damp basements or hot attics causes irreversible 
damage. Moldy tapes are often impossible to salvage and the mold spores they 
carry may endanger other collection materials. A hot storage place causes 
tapes to warp, the magnetic coating to flake off, and the magnetic informa¬ 
tion to bleed and blur, eventually rendering the recording unplayable. The 
Center will not accept moldy or heat-damaged recordings unless they possess 
immense historical or cultural value and the Library’s Recording Laboratory 
is able to clean and preserve them. 


20 


Shelve audio and video tape in a cool, dry environment. A rule of thumb 
is that if you are comfortable, your tapes are comfortable. Avoid storing tapes 
near magnetic fields generated by electronic devices such as motors, tele¬ 
phones, or magnets. 

When mailing open-reel recordings, it is a good idea to tape the tail end 
of the tape to the outside of the reel. This keeps the tape from unraveling 
during shipment. Do not tape the tails down for storage, however, since this 
will prevent the tape from expanding and contracting with temperature 
changes. 

Place the collection in appropriately sized boxes. Boxes should be sturdy 
and small enough to lift easily. Tapes are heavy and may shift during 
shipment. If they are packed loosely or in too big or too fragile a box, they will 
destroy the box. Fill empty spaces with soft packing material to prevent the 
tapes from shifting. 

Archaic recording formats (e.g., disc, cylinder, wire, paper tape) 

It is especially important to document collections containing older for¬ 
mats. The Library attempts to make preservation tape copies of recorded 
material in fragile or archaic formats as soon as possible after they are 
received. Before the recordings are copied, however, they must be identified 
and placed in order. Unlike modern tapes, old recordings should not be 
played before they are duplicated, as each playing diminishes the quality of 
the recording. Therefore, if you do not arrange and identify the recordings, 
they may be copied in the wrong order. If you are able to arrange the 
recordings in chronological or some other order, please do so. 

Closely examine disc sleeves and labels, cylinder boxes, wire spool boxes, 
and paper or acetate tape boxes for information about the recordings. You 
may find dates, notes, and/or initials scratched or written in these places. You 
or someone else connected with the collection may be able to read and 
explain such notations. For example, you may know that the letters “CM” 
scratched on a disc means that the recording was made with a carbon 
microphone, while the archivist might not be able to determine such 
information. If you are unaware of the contents of the recordings, however, 
do not play them in order to provide identification. Playing older recordings 
may endanger them, and duplicating them in the wrong order is preferable 
to damaging them irreparably. 

Contact Center personnel for advice about placing numbers on old 
recordings. In some cases, a penciled number in an inconspicuous place is 
best; in others, a masking tape number applied to the recording’s box or 
sleeve will suffice. 

Old recordings are fragile. Special care must be taken in preparing them 
for shipping, and each different type of recording has its own needs. If you 
have any questions, contact the Center for advice on packing and shipping. 


21 




Manuscripts 


The Center accepts written, typed, or ephemeral collections relevant to 
the field of folklife, as well as manuscript documentation of multi-format 
collections. When donating manuscript materials that document collections, 
include fieldnotes, fliers, published references to your collection, work you 
have written about the collection (published or unpublished), legible lecture 
notes, press releases, correspondence with informants (including envelopes 
containing names and addresses), letters of permission, and inventories. If 
you wish, you may donate good-quality copies of these materials rather than 
originals. Please send us diskette and printed copies of any manuscripts you 
have in computer files (see the section on computer diskettes below). Weed 
out multiple copies of manuscript material, leaving no more than two copies 
of items. Extraneous material that is not part of the collection should also be 
removed. 

Put the manuscript materials in order: by page number, in the case of a 
long text; by date, in the case of correspondence, for example. 

Provide a general list of the manuscript materials. Indicate if any of the 
material is copyrighted (for example, articles or theses). If possible, translate 
titles of foreign-language material. Number the pages of unpublished 
written materials such as tape logs, fieldnotes, and theses. Logs and 
fieldnotes should include the number(s) of their corresponding recordings 
and/or photographs. 

Older manuscripts must be handled with care as they may be fragile. Do 
not fasten them together with paper clips, attempt to repair them with tape, 
or put rubber bands around them. If you plan to store them for an extended 
time, put them in acid-free folders and/or boxes. 

Photographs 

Arrange, number, and label the items, as described above. The Center 
recommends soft (no. 1) lead pencils for numbering both photographs and 
the envelopes housing photographs, since inks and solvents in inks can 
migrate and damage the images. 

Logging: Log your visual images. At the top of each photo log sheet, 
include a heading that lists the roll number, page number, or range of item 
numbers, followed by the photographer’s name, inclusive date(s), place(s), 
and event(s) documented (e.g., church supper, interview). Next, briefly 
describe the images. List image numbers, followed by names of subjects, and, 
if not noted before, the specific date, place, and event photographed. 
Double-check to be sure the information on the photo log matches the 
information on the items themselves (especially the numbers). Again, if 
you write these logs on a computer, please include both printed and diskette 
copies with the materials you send. 


22 


Storing: If you plan to store the photographs for a time before placing 
them in the Archive, house and store negatives and prints separately. Remove 
negatives and prints from the glassine sleeves provided by photographic 
developing companies; these are too acidic. Place negatives, prints, and slides 
in uncoated polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, or acid-free paper fold¬ 
ers or sleeves. Store prints in flat, acid-neutral boxes. Negatives should be 
stored in special sleeves and placed in binders. Or you may place them in 
upright boxes, so that they stand on edge. Metal filing cabinets are accept¬ 
able, but wooden ones are not. The storage environment should be cool, 
dust-free, and neither too humid nor too dry. Here are some additional tips 
on working with specific visual formats. 



k 

These black-and-white prints are stored in acid-free envelopes and boxes, numbered, 
and cataloged in a database for identification and retrieval. 


Prints: Label the back of each photo using a soft lead pencil (no. 1). Be 
sure to place the face of the photo on a clean, hard surface when writing 
on the back. Include names of subjects and the photographer, place, 
event documented, and date. If the print is too small or fragile to hold all 
this information, arrange the photos carefully and describe each photo 
(along with its number) on a sheet of paper. Or you may enclose each 
photo in a separate, labeled envelope (first, write on the envelope; then, 
insert the photo). 


23 




Slides; If you are contributing only a few slides, number each slide on its 
paper mounting frame. If you are donating many rolls of slides, number 
each box. You may also want to mark the boxes with a general description 
of the subject matter. An alternative to numbering boxes of slides is to 
place the slides in slide pages, which are available at most photographic 
shops. We recommend rigid slide pages or uncoated polyethylene or 
polypropylene for safe storage. In this case, number each page of slides, 
rather than each roll. 

Notice that most slides processed by commercial companies have the 
date and slide number printed on the mounting frame. You may use these 
dates to help you place the rolls in chronological order. 

Use the slide number if you need to refer to an individual item in a box 
or page of slides (e.g., “Slide number 10 of box number 3 was published 
in the December 1989 issue of the Journal of American Folklore,'' or “Slide 15 
on slide page number 20 shows the collector with her recording equip¬ 
ment”). 

Negatives; Each roll of negatives should be numbered on the negative 
envelope or sleeve and the corresponding number written on the back of 
the prints or contact sheet. Soft pencil is best for marking envelopes and 
prints. Number envelopes before placing a negative inside to avoid 
damaging the photograph. 

Notice that there are item numbers printed under each image on the 
negative film. These numbers may be used if you need to refer to an 
individual image (e.g., “Negative number 12 in roll number 26 is the best 
image of a dancer in traditional costume”). 

Include prints of the negatives you donate. For black-and-white nega¬ 
tives, a contact sheet may suffice. 

Film 

Arrange, number, and label the items in the manner described in the 
sections above. Log films for easy access to contents. Provide technical 
information about the images and sound, including the type and format of 
equipment used. Remember that the most common equipment used today 
may become obsolete in a few years, so give all the technical information you 
can about the format. 

If the film was made before 1950, you should check with a professional to 
determine whether it is cellulose nitrate. Cellulose nitrate film requires 
special care, since it is unstable and extremely flammable. 

Store film in a cool, nonhumid environment. Reels should be housed in 
containers. Shelve film reels flat. 


24 


Computer diskettes 


Like audio tapes, computer diskettes are magnetic recordings. Read the 
advice for donating sound recordings for information on arrangement, 
numbering, and labeling. Be sure to take special precautions when labeling 
diskettes. You may wish to consult the manufacturer’s instructions (5 1/4- 
inch floppy disks, for example, should not be written on except with a soft- 
tipped marking pen). 

A printed list of the files included on each diskette should accompany 
each one. Be sure to include information about the brand of computer used, 
software used, and the operating system of the computer the diskette was 
made on (CPM, DOS, OS/2, Macintosh, Unix, etc). If the disk type is not 
printed on the diskette, include this information as well (double-sided 
double-density, single-sided double-density, double-sided high-density, etc.). 
Computer software and hardware change rapidly. It may be impossible to 
retrieve information from your diskettes without such technical descriptions. 
If you are sending word processed files in DOS and are able to convert your 
files to ascii, please include both a word-processed and ascii version of each 
file on the diskettes. Ascii is the easiest format to retrieve and use. 

Include paper print-outs of the data on the diskettes whenever possible. 
If the collection is extremely large (as with a diskette version of a book or 
dissertation draft), you might just print the tables of contents, indexes, 
introductory materials, and/or title pages. Paper copies of these materials 
will make processing the collection easier and make introductory informa¬ 
tion readily available to interested readers. 

Diskettes must be protected from dust and possible sources of magnetism. 
Do not allow metal paper clips to come in contact with the diskettes. Never 
place them near telephones, scissors, speakers, or kitchen magnets. Do not 
put rubber bands around groups of diskettes to keep them together. You may 
wish to use appropriate diskette boxes to organize and store the diskettes. An 
inexpensive alternative is an appropriately sized plastic bag. Use boxes, 
diskette mailers, or padded mailing bags to mail the items to the Center. 


25 


Appendixes 


POTENTIAL ACQUISITIONS DATA SHEET 

1. Lender, donor, or other source 

2. Address, phone number 

3. Type of acquisition 

4. Material or equipment supplied by Library of Congress? 

5. Quantity and format, including duration 

6. Physical quality 

7. Collector(s) 

8. Sponsor(s) 

9. Equipment 

10. Nature of project and reason for collection 

11. Description of contents (who, what, where, when), including sound 
quality? 

12. Organization of collection, including nature of identification, labeling, 
and arrangement 

13. Nature of accompanying documentation 

14. Date of availability (and, for loaned material, return) 

15. Material or monetary requirements of donor, lender, or other source 

16. Type of access or restriction (if any) 

17. Availability of addresses of performers and other interested parties 

18. Location and nature of other copies (present or future); are any of these 
of permanent archival quality? 

19. Publications based on collection (historical, current, or future) 

20. Nature of materials enclosed or otherwise examined by staff 

21. Other remarks, including unusual or outstanding characteristics 

22. Place of examination or interview 

23. Date 

24. Folklife Center staff member 


26 


FIELDWORK SAMPLE DATA SHEET 


Number_ 

Corresponding to: Tape No._Photo No. 

Video No._Other 


Collector:_ 

Circumstances of interview 


Name of informant: 
Address:_ 


_zip 

Others present at interview (names and addresses)_ 


Place and date of birth: 


Family information: 


Size of family (names and ages): 


Ethnic heritage (mother’s and father’s):. 


Generation of informant:_ 

(Date of informant’s, parents’, or grandparents’ immigration.) 


Circumstances of immigration: (reasons) 


27 








































Activities in native country: 


Migrational experience and travel (U.S.A. and elsewhere): 


Education, apprenticeship, and training experience: 

Occupational experience:_ 

Church or religious affiliation:_ 

Membership in organizations (civic, social, etc.)_ 


Special interests, skills, and hobbies: 


Important events during life (civic and personal): 


Folklore and traditional materials in informant’s repertoire (use additional 
page). Brief description of genre or type of performance): 


Informant’s commentary on performance:. 


When does he or she perform it? 


Time and circumstance_ 

How, when, where, and from whom did he or she learn it? 


Additional observations by fieldworker (character of informant, contact 
with mass media and modern world, personal opinions and reactions that 
resulted from or influenced the interview):_ 


28 








































AUDIO TAPE LOG 


COLLECTOR_TAPE NO._ 

TAPE TITLE (INFORMANT OR EVENT)_ 

CORRESPONDING DATA SHEET NO._ 

PHOTO LOG NO._ VIDEO LOG NO._ 

FIELDNOTES (DATESOROTHERRETRIEVA1.no.)_ 

CASSETTE_REEL-TO-REEL_REEL SIZE_CASSETTE SIZE (in 

minutes)_MONO_STEREO_ 

SPEED: 7 1/2 3 3/4 1 7/8 15/16 SIDES/TRACKS_ 

INTERVIEW DATE_TIME_ 

PLACE OF INTERVIEW(S)_ 


SETTING AND CIRCUMSTANCE 


FOLKLORE RECORDED 


ADDITIONAL NOTES 


TOPIC SUMMARY 

TIME OR METER TOPIC / INFORMANT 

READING 

(OPTIONAL) 


29 





























VIDEO TAPE LOG 


COLLECTOR_TAPE NO.. 

TAPE TITLE (INFORMANT OR EVENT)_ 

CORRESPONDING DATA SHEET NO._ 

PHOTO LOG NO._ AUDIO LOG NO. 

FIELDNOTES (DATES OR OTHER RETRIEVAL NO.)_ 
FORMAT_ 

INTERVIEW DATE_TIME_ 

PLACE OF INTERVIEW(S)_ 


SETTING AND CIRCUMSTANCE 


FOLKLORE RECORDED 


ADDITIONAL NOTES 


TOPIC SUMMARY 

TIME OR METER TOPIC / INFORMANT 

READING 

(OPTIONAL) 


30 





























PHOTO LOG 


COLI.ECTOR_FORMAT 

CORRESPONDING DATA SHEET NO._ 

TAPE LOG NO._ VIDEO LOG NO._ 

FIELDNOTES (DATES OR OTHER RETRIEVAL. NO.)_ 

INTERVIEW/VISIT DATE_TIME_ 

LOCATIONS 

SETTING AND CIRCUMSTANCE_ 


TOPIC ANALYSIS 

FRAME NUMBERS SUBJECT 


☆U S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE; 1995-0-384-682 


31 























'hJ. 


r • 








4 





☆ ☆ 


















. MANCHESTER 
IDIANA 46962 


















